Mekong Capital plans US$200mil agriculture fund next year
Officials from Thanh Hoa Forest Ranger sub-department patrol in Xuan Lien National Park. Mekong Capital is interested in firms specialising in sectors such as forestry, organic fertiliser and ocean health. - Vietnam News/ANN
HANOI: Mekong Capital Ltd., a Vietnam-focused private equity firm, plans to launch a regenerative agriculture fund in 2026 with as much as US$200 in capital, according to its founder and partner Chris Freund.
"We're making progress getting that fund off the ground and currently at a stage where we're working on the pipeline' of potential companies to invest in, Freund said in an interview.
Mekong Capital, which previously mostly focused on retail, restaurants, education and consumer sectors, is shifting to areas such as biotech and agricultural technology, Freund said. While continuing to invest in consumer companies, it is also interested in firms specialising in sectors such as forestry, organic fertiliser and ocean health, he said.
Companies operating in data-rich sectors that are capable of collecting, analysing and leveraging large volumes of information are well-positioned for future growth, Freund said. Mekong Capital is looking at how data technologies can improve performances of companies it invests in, he said.
Mekong Capital, founded in 2001, has launched a total of five funds in Vietnam, including Mekong Enterprise Fund IV, or MEF IV, its most recent. The MEF IV fund was started in 2019 with committed capital of US$246 million. - Bloomberg
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
24 minutes ago
- The Star
Vietnam top carmaker VinFast's revenue surges as EV deliveries jump
HANOI (Agencies): Vietnam's VinFast said its first-quarter revenue more than doubled as deliveries of its electric vehicles jumped nearly four times in the three-month period. Revenue grew 150% to US$656.5 million in the January-March period compared with analysts' average estimate of US$520 million, according to data compiled by LSEG. The EV startup made the statement at a conference on expanding localization and developing supplier systems that it organised on Monday. Accordingly, the manufacturer will offer a 50% discount on land rental fees for the first three years and 20% for the next five years for businesses that are its suppliers when developing factories at two VinFast complexes in Hai Phong city and Ha Tinh province. In addition to support in terms of premises, VinFast commits to buying its suppliers' all products per plans agreed with them. It will also connect the domestic suppliers with foreign companies according to their demand. "As a result, VinFast's suppliers can receive technology and experience transfer, gradually improve international competitiveness and proactively participate in the global supply chain," it said in a release. The carmaker aims to have the localization rate of its products rise to 80% by 2026. At the end of 2024, Le Ngoc Anh, director of VinFast Vietnam, had disclosed that the localization of its EVs was more than 60%, including the body, engine, roof, and shock absorbers. Compared to internal combustion engine vehicles assembled in Vietnam, this rate is quite high, because the highest localization rate of gasoline and diesel vehicles in the country is about 40%, according to VinFast. The company noted that its method of calculating the localization rate is similar to that of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other car companies in Vietnam. VinFast was founded in 2017 by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, who is currently the company's CEO. In 2022, it switched to the production and sales of EVs. In 2025, the firm aims to sell 200,000 cars. In the first four months of this year, it sold nearly 44,700 cars, completing about 22.3% of the year's plan and leading the domestic market. In 2024, VinFast reaped over VND44,000 billion ($1.8 billion) in revenue, up 58% from 2023. However, the company suffered a net loss of more than VND77,354 billion (over $3 billion) last year. - Reuters
New Straits Times
30 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Stocks diverge awaiting China-US trade talks
LONDON: Stock markets diverged and the dollar dropped on Monday as investors digested key economic data and looked to a fresh round of China-US trade talks. Asian markets caught up with gains Friday on Wall Street and in Europe on news that the United States created a forecast-beating 139,000 jobs last month. That helped offset official data on Monday showing Chinese exports grew at a slower pace than expected last month and concerns over the US economy amid President Donald Trump's tariffs blitz. The Chinese data "created hope of further interventions from Beijing to stoke the economy and investors also looked ahead to talks between US and Chinese officials in London aimed at reaching an agreement on trade", noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. The talks come days after Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. They were helped by news that Beijing had on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while US aviation giant Boeing will start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. The impact of the trade row was highlighted on Monday in data showing Chinese exports to the United States sank more than 34 per cent on-year in May and almost 13 per cent from the previous month. However shipments to other regions, including the European Union and countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, surged. Separate data showed Chinese consumer prices fell in May for the fourth straight month. Optimism that the two sides could make a breakthrough boosted Asian markets, with Hong Kong up more than one per cent, while Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok, Taipei and Manila also advanced. However, London, Paris and Frankfurt struggled around the half-way stage. The Asian gains followed a strong lead from Wall Street, where all three main US indices closed more than one per cent higher Friday. Eyes will now turn to the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to lower interest rates, even as many economists warn that Trump's tariffs could reignite inflation, hit supply chains and drag on consumer sentiment. "The May minutes and recent comments by several (policy board) members... suggest the Fed is highly attentive to the risk that tariffs will lead to a persistent inflation shock," wrote analysts at Bank of America.
New Straits Times
30 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Ringgit flat against greenback ahead of US-China trade talks
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit traded in a narrow range against the US dollar on Monday amid cautious sentiment in the currency market ahead of US-China trade talks set to take place later today, said an analyst. At 6pm, the local note made a small retreat to 4.2290/2345 against the greenback compared to Friday's close of 4.2270/2360. Market participants were awaiting the outcome of the trade negotiation between the two economic superpowers, said the analyst. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that China's exports fell to 4.8 per cent in May from 8.1 per cent in the previous month, with exports to the United States contracting 34.5 per cent in May from a contraction of 21 per cent. "This suggests that the tariff shocks have taken a toll on bilateral (trade) between the United States and China," he told Bernama Meanwhile, Mohd Afzanizam said Bank Negara Malaysia's FX reserves continued to expand, climbing to US$119.6 billion at the end of May from US$119.1 billion in the middle of May. "This suggests that the flow of funds on the ringgit has been constructive and may have supported the ringgit," he added. At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies. It eased against the Japanese yen to 2.9344/2.9384 from Friday's 2.9324/9390, depreciated versus the British pound to 5.7392/7466 from 5.7212/7334 and fell vis-à-vis the euro to 4.8316/8379 from 4.8268/8371. The local currency traded mixed against most of its ASEAN peers. It fell versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2908/2953 from 3.2862/2934 but gained against the Thai baht to 12.9414/9642 from 12.9599/9947 on Friday. The domestic unit advanced vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 7.57/7.59 from 7.58/7.60 but was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 259.5/260.0 from 259.5/260.2 previously.
